


Spike's Inspirational Speech

by Witherstone



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Inspirational Speeches, Souled Spike (BtVS)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28921809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witherstone/pseuds/Witherstone
Summary: Spike is hungry, Buffy wants to fight, and the house is crowded with Potentials. Late S7, Spuffy, oneshot.Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Relationships: Spike/Buffy Summers
Kudos: 25





	Spike's Inspirational Speech

The sun was setting over the deserted town. Summers' residence kitchen was dark enough for a vampire to walk through, even with the blinds open over the yard window. The Potentials were all gathered around the island, Buffy dividing boxes of Chinese food from a huge takeaway bag on the counter.

It must have been a demon restaurant to stay open during the apocalypse. Most businesses closed weeks ago and the streets were emptying out, save for scavengers and creatures allied with the incoming evil. Spike entered the kitchen and eyed the food, messily thrown between hungry teenagers.

"Got anything without garlic in it?" He tried for an abandoned bag in the middle. One of the girls snatched it from him and shot him a glare. He didn't remember her name and swallowed a low growl that was starting to emerge.

"Why does he get to eat our food?" Rona spoke up, gripping on her own dinner tightly. "He can just have blood, and we are starving here".

"Yeah, that's like our first proper meal in days", another one added, scrubbing the last grains of rice from the bottom of her plate. "It's all cans and hot pockets, and we don't even know if that Chinese place will be there tomorrow".

Buffy rolled her eyes and raised her hand holding a box of fried noodles with the fork still sticking from it.

"Here, you can have mine", she said casually, meeting his gaze. "I'm finished anyway". She stood up from her chair and moved away, giving him the place.

He walked over and took the half-finished meal out of her hand, noticing how little she was eating lately. The room fell quiet, filled only with sounds of vigorous slurping, as the Potentials suddenly rushed to finish eating and get out. Spike didn't sit down, leaning on the counter with a satisfied sneer on his face.

Buffy was snooping through the upper cupboards with her back turned to him when she spoke again.

"We got some burba weed", she fished behind cereal boxes to find a small bag. "Willow found it yesterday. May be the last one in town".

"Thanks, love", he replied softly. She nodded at him and exited the kitchen, checking the chores list in the hall.

Spike finished his meal slowly, eyeing anyone who dared to challenge him with a glance. The atmosphere in the house was getting more tense every day and emotions were running high, but without Buffy in the room, it didn't look like anyone was burning for a confrontation with him. A few girls started to whisper between themselves; once he got bored with being intimidating, he threw out the food container and went back to the basement, closing the door loudly. Kennedy looked after him and giggled.

...

Spike wasn't surprised to find his Slayer down here, furiously punching the training bag. He took off his coat and leaned against the wall, watching her. The pressure was getting to everyone, and her way of dealing was brutal workouts, starving herself and social isolation. He walked up to her with a half-smile, catching her tired eyes.

"Fight me", he said simply as she stopped her attack on the bag. "It'll do you better than that".

"You sure?" She moved to face him, breathing still quickened from the short warmup. "I got some pent-up teenage drama angst to release." She quickly eyed the way his fitted t-shirt covered the muscles underneath.

"Quite sure, pet. 'Ats the second-best way to loosen' up." She smirked at him as they moved to their sides, circling each other in the mostly empty basement. "Now show me how frustrated you are." He almost laughed as she charged at him, throwing punches he had trouble blocking.

She never held back with him, chip or not. Spike danced around her for a while, testing the waters. She was focused, but not deadly yet; her attacks were thought-through and too business-like to him. So he added a few dirty tricks to throw her off balance, toyed with her routine strategies, took some hits just to sucker punch her in the stomach. The first chance he got, he kicked her in the ribs and pinned to the concrete floor, marking her defeat with his bared teeth above her neck.

"You're really tired today, eh?", he said quietly just to spite her. Buffy sprung to her feet, shoving him away, and got back to her battle stance.

"Don't take it personally, Spike", she hissed, hands raised for another attack. "I just don't feel very threatened right now".

That was all the encouragement he needed. Feeling the fire starting in her, he got careless as she threw him over the drying laundry and stuck two fingers between the ribs on his back.

"Got the heart and you're dead", she chirped happily as he got up.

"So now we're even, Slayer", he replied, cocking his head. "You just can't best me in the end, can you?".

She couldn't back down from a challenge, he knew that all too well. They fought in short, intense bursts, enjoying the rush and exercise.

"Three out of five?" Spike suggested when Buffy had him pinned face-first against the wall and marked breaking his neck. Two rounds later it was still a draw, despite their best efforts.

She wanted a win, but he wasn't just going to give it to her. She was panting now, but her eyes were radiating raw power as she pushed the training bag at him. Spike dodged it quickly, anticipating from which side she'll emerge, and caught her shoulder, blocking her right hand. He pulled her hair to expose the neck, blunt teeth millimeters from her skin when he heard a gasp from above them.

...

Spike glanced up and immediately loosened his grip, seeing the Potentials crowded on the stairs, pushing through one another for a better view. Consumed by his rare chance of fun, he didn't even hear them come in. Buffy chose this exact moment to kick him to the floor and mark the final stake in his heart, satisfied smile on her sweaty face. Someone clapped.

She helped him up before looking at the astounded girls. Spike cleared his throat, not moving from her side.

"We got some attention", he stated. Buffy seemed slightly embarrassed as she got her breathing under control; she didn't notice them either.

"That was so cool!", Amanda exclaimed, leaning over the railing.

"And so different", Vi added from her side. "Why didn't you show us that before? It was like a real fight!"

"It was just sparring", Buffy shrugged, stepping away from Spike and towards the stairs. She put her hands on her hips, resolve back in her voice. "And I get the feeling there are still chores to be done today, aren't there?"

A collective whine let her know that even watching her train was more interesting than doing the dishes.

"Come on, Buffy", another girl spoke from the crowd. "This is what we came here for!"

"Yeah, and you won, right?" That was Kennedy, visibly excited by the prospect.

"Three out of five, yeah-" the Slayer started to answer but was interrupted by Spike, speaking confidently from her side.

"I had you in a lock on the last one, pet. If not for the audience, I could've bit you".

Buffy turned her head to him. "But you looked up." She faced the girls, feeling a speech coming up. "Random chances, flukes, luck. All of these can happen in a fight, but you can't rely on them, can't count on a star to save your neck."

"But you've been bitten before", Shannon pointed out.

"Wasn't bitten by me", Spike said sharply, lowering his voice. He was happy to see some gulping among the Potentials.

"True", Buffy admitted, wondering who dared to spread this gossip. "I was bitten by vampire... _s_ before, but it wasn't during a fight. That, I probably wouldn't survive. Spike bites to kill, most vampires will as well."

"There are different kinds of bites?"

Buffy turned to Spike and raised her eyebrows. Mildly amused, he stepped up to face the girls. He almost couldn't believe the Slayer actually passed on another inspired speech, instead just saying softly "The scene is yours" and sitting down in the corner of the basement.

He snickered, making a mental point to parody her as much as possible.

"'F course." If he was to give them a lecture, he might as well do it on his own terms, he thought, finding his cigarettes on a shelf and lighting one. "The easiest way is to go for a carotid when the victim is alive. This way, their panicked heart will pump the blood for you, no work needed." He decided to have some fun, pointing to a spot high on his neck. "Even if you break free, you'll bleed out in minutes", he could see some girls checking their necks to feel their pulse. "It also hurts like hell", he added, smiling.

"The better deal is a lower bite, side of the neck, closer to the collarbone", his fingers moved down the pale skin. "You can still hit the jugular, but no artery means you need to suck the blood yourself. If you wiggle out of that one, you may stand a chance." He didn't say lower bites were reserved for corpses and willing victims, feeling the anxiety already forming in the group. Buffy glanced at him from under the wall, her expression unreadable.

"Wouldn't it still mean you turn into a vampire? No matter how you get bitten?" Rona asked, sitting on a step and putting her legs through the railing. Shannon gave her a nudge, shaking her head.

"Nah, love." Spike put out the cig and reached for his duster. "You'd need to be at death's door first, and drink the blood of the vampire who bit you. Then you'll go to sleep to a dark, dark place, and your folks assume you dead and do you a proper burial in some burning sacred ground." He carried on, walking around the dimly lit room. "It'll be days, weeks before you wake up in your rotting clothes to dig up the grave, consumed by blinding hunger, greater than anything you ever felt." He remembered the feeling more than the place and his voice carried a strange nostalgia.

It was quiet for a moment before Vi probed further.

"How long does it take to... d-drain someone?"

He liked her way of thinking. "With the carotid? Up to three minutes. The jugular? My record was four." He looked into the distance for a dramatic effect. "But it could take days if one wished. Chain a girl, let 'er heal and drink every other hour. Then again, that was never my thing."

"What was your thing?" Was it Rona that asked? Brave girl! Spike flashed a cold smile, getting cockier by the minute. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Buffy give him an amused look.

"Fights I didn't know I could win", he said, reminiscing. "Danger. Rebellions and mayhem." He paused for a moment, raising his head. "Killing Slayers".

"So you failed?"

A few girls giggled, some tried to shush Rona, but Spike enjoyed the audience too much to care what she was implying.

"Three out of five, Buffy got me beat, that she did. Third time's a charm." Looking up, he could see understanding crawling to Rona's face and decided to go for the grande finale.

"Do you think you would win against me?" All the faces were on him now, potential Slayers pondering the question. He chose to help them out with a visual. "All fifteen or what of you, surrounding me, stakes in hands, which one of you would be the one to dust me?" It was almost another challenge, one that brought various emotions to their faces. He liked the fear, but loved insolence more.

"Would you really have the advantage?" He was stepping closer to them now, swaying slightly in his own role, studying their reactions, provoking them further.

"I've been killing people for over a century. Angry mobs, pandemics, world wars, uprisings, and made it out with fists and fangs alone. What would you do?" He started walking up the stairs as the girls parted before him. "Set me on fire." He let their imagination take over. "Slash through with a sword. Break my neck." He was standing so close he could smell their blood. "You'd have to get closer, arm's length distance to reach. And do you think, by then, I wouldn't have ripped you to shreds already?"

He waited two seconds before putting on his game face and treating them to a feral growl. Most of the girls run up, some squealed, but before he could congratulate himself, he stood eye to eye with Kennedy.

"I wouldn't let you that close", she said quietly, staring him down. "I'd just shoot a crossbow once."

"You missed my heart", he replied, hissing through the fangs. "Before you reloaded, I'm already at your throat".

He finished the scene, changing back to a human face. Kennedy had some guts, that was sure, even if he could hear her racing heartbeat.

"Go straight for the kill if you can", Spike straightened up, summing up the lesson. "Run to get the advantage if you have to. Make the fight yours, and make it count."

Kennedy nodded slightly and went upstairs to join the rest of the Potentials, closing the door behind her. Excited teenage shrieks filled the corridor and Spike retreated to the basement, meeting Buffy's eyes as she got up.

"Quite a show", she said, carefully pretending to appear unimpressed. "But was there really a point, or did you just enjoy scaring the crap out of kids?"

"Think they got scared?" He asked hopefully. "That Kennedy chick gave me a glare."

She snarked and went up the stairs, smacking his ass on the way. Now that took him by surprise.

"I'll go see to those chores", she said over her shoulder. "Enjoy your newly earned privacy. Who knows, could be even two hours."

Spike looked after her, recovering. Buffy just smiled to herself, a tingling feeling in her chest at the thought of spending this night with William the Bloody.


End file.
